Eco-friendly Birthday Favors for Kids

By Scarlet

With a 4-year-old and 6-year-old, I attend a fair number of birthday parties and I am always shocked by how few eco-friendly birthday favors are given out. I am usually overwhelmed by plastic toys and store-bought candy. I think people need some eco-friendly ideas for children's birthday party favors:

1.    Make your own fresh caramel popcorn and package in goodie bags. We did this last year for my daughter's birthday party and it was a big hit!

2.    Make your own fresh trail mix and package in Ziploc® Brand Bags with a cloth ribbon bow or in Ziploc® Brand reusable containers.

3.    Give a box of crayons. Kids are always using them and they always need more. If you have a bunch of stubs around, you can even make your own crayons to give out. Just peel the crayon stubs, place in a candy mold or muffin tin and heat the stubs in the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit until melted. Let cool.

4.    Give a small terracotta pot with a package of seeds. Kids love to grow things and they will have tons of fun with that project. The pot can be used over and over again and the seed packets may be placed inside the pot with no wrapping of this favor required.

5.    Give a drawing or writing pad made out of tree-free paper like banana paper, mango paper, or sugar cane paper.

6.    Give a live plant. There are lots of flower choices in the spring and herbs make a great year-round choice. The child can learn to both care for plants and use the herbs to flavor their foods.

7.    Sidewalk chalk is a fun useful gift for your party guests. It may be purchased in bulk and packaged in paper bags for your guests.

8.    If you are looking for a high-end option there are tons of eco-friendly toys to choice from.

9.    Organic socks or T-shirts are also a fun eco-friendly party favor option.

10.    Stainless steel reusable drinking bottles is another fun green birthday party favor option. The price on these vary widely so you will need to do some smart shopping for this one but it will be a very useful eco-friendly gift.

These eco-friendly birthday party favors really just touch on a few possibilities. What options have worked well for you in the past?  Which one of the options do you think you might try for your next party? I appreciate your input!